The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 7, 1904, Page 17

e — Pages17t020 Pages 171020 - PRESIDENT'S — FUTURE POLICY ‘IS REVEALED TO CONGRESS IN A STRONG UST treatment for all citizens, with special privileges for none, in the administration of the laws; a firm foreign policy, combined with advocacy of the principle of arbitration to promote the world’s peace; the upbuilding of the navy and merchant marine, the one to safeguard the Monroe doctrine, the other to carry American commerce to the MESSAGE e remotest portions of the globe; fair dealing with territories and dependencies; the reclamation of the arid lands of the West; restraint of immigration to the extent of excluding undesirable aliens; greater uniformity in the criminal laws of the States—these are some of the important features of the policy of President Roosevelt as outlined in his message to Congress. No mention is made of tariff revision. Currency reform is suggested, the President recommending that the Senate and the House join in an inquiry i to determine what changes would be most beneficial. Document Recommends Much Legislation for the Nation’s Betterment. NCIPAL POINTS OF THE MESSAGE: CAPITAL —Great corporations should be managed with due regard to the public interest as a whole. Where this can be done un- T laws, it must be done. Where these laws fall short, others should be enacted to supplement them. 1e wage workers have the right to organize and by all peaceful means to endeavor to persuade their fellows to join : under no circumstances the right to commit violence upon those, whether capitalists or rkers, who refuse to support their organization, or who side with those with whom they are at odds. The Govern- an neither discriminate for nor against non-union meen who are in its employ. Where Government employes band them- es together for the purpose of extorting improperly high' salaries from the Government they are guilty of a grave im- T 1 PR rese zations. propriety sciences of production RRIGATION —Plans for the larger problems for the reclamation of arid lands have been solved, and it now remains to execute rk which has been laid out. R SERVICE —Salaries should be substituted for fees. o 5 CONSULA sug NATIONA ns whi ns wh il ed. CURRENCY option of the holder. They hav ich are a restraint upon interstate —Retirement of the greenbacks is urged. . Marked Denefits to the tillers of commerce. S —The highways of commerce must be open to all and it is necessary to put a stop to all rebates. i the soil has resulted. L QUARANTINE LAW —It is undesirable that a State should, on its own initiative, enforce quarantine regula- A competitive system of examination for appointments is i | Every silver dollar should be made by law redeemable in gold at the MERCHANT MARINE—Immediate attention is called to the need of encouraging American shipping by appropriate legis- iation. IMMIGRATION—We should not admit masses of men whose standards of living and whose personal customs are such that they tend to fower the level of the Amfierican wage worker. ¥ 5 5 PROTECTION OF kI ECTIONS—The enactment of a law directed against bribery and corruption is recommended. CRIMINAL PROSECUTIONS —A system of procedure has grown up in the Federal courts which makes the law easy of en- forcement against the man who has no money and difficult of enforcement against the man who has money. In criminal cases of the United States should run throughout its borders. The wheels of justice should not be clogged. POLICY —American rights will be safeguarded at all times. The United States is an earnest advocate of the policy the writ FOREIGN of arbitra tion. THE ‘4\' A VY —No more patriotic duty confronts us as a people than to keep the navy adequate to the needs of this country’s con- THE ARMY It must be kept at a high state of proficiency. The service should be made more attractive. More officers are needed. THE PHILIPPINES to rise in BUREAU, HOTEL , TON, WASHINGTON, De. 6.—The full text Rooseveit's mes- ress follows: se of Rep- continues to rity. Such narily due to| ge of our ecit- | » ur great | important | is the working of our nental policies. | ress- | kept sub- although of gressive spirit f scope of the func- | Government re- »pment as a nation rease of expense; f prosperity throu ¥ is passing justifi permanent improv ater than would be wise Battleships and forts, | s and improved water- nts which should be | ve the money; but and a large surplus avagance and con- be taken to guard sary increase of the or- s of government. The | Government business ed with the same rigid | t of doing a private | € ol & Capital and Labor FHave Squal Rughts| al Government Should Set | wmple 1o the States in En- forcing the Lazv. | the vast and complicated mech- | - anism of our modern civilized life the | dominant note is the note of industrial- ; and the relations of capital and ' or, and_especially of organized cap- | al and organized labor, to each other and to the public at large come second in importance only to the intimate ques- tions of family life. Our peculiar form of government, with its sharp division of authority between the nation and the several States, has been on_the whole far more advantageous to our develop- ment than a more strongly centralized government. But it is undoubtedly re- sponsible for much of the difficulty of meeting with adequate legislation the new problems presented by the to- tal change in industrial conditions on this continent during the last half cen- 1 | the laws affecting the employment of | | capital in huge masses. | | unable to face call for help, then the | unions which have often, been among — At present the island tribes are utterly incapable of existing in independence. They must be helped 1 the higher scale of civilization and the capacity for self-government. tury. In actual practice it has proved| exceedingly difficult, and in many cases | action among the various States on these subjects. From the very nature of the case this is especially true of With regard to labor the problem is | no less important, but it is simpler. | As lJong as the States retain the pri- | marv control of the police power the circumstances must be altogether ex- treme which require interference by the Federz] authorities, whether in the way of safeguarding the rights of labor or in the way of seeing that wrong is not done by unruly persons who shield themselves behind the name of labor. If there is resistance to the Federal courts, interference with the malis, or interstate commerce, or molestation of Federal property, or if the State au- thorities in some crisis which they are Federal Government may interfere; but | though such Interference may be caused by a condition of things aris- ing out of trouble connected with some question of labor, the interference itself simply takes the form of restoring or- der without regard to the questions which have caused the breach of order —for to keep order is a primary duty and in a time of disorder and violence | all other questions sink into abeyance until order has been restored. In the District of Columbia and in the Terri- tories the Federal law covers the entire | field of government, but the labor ques- | tion is only acute in populous centers of commerce, manufacturing or mining. | Nevertheless, both in the enactment and in the enforcement of law the Fed- eral Government within its restricted sphere should set an example to the State governments, especially in a mat- ter so vital as this affecting labor. I believe that under modern fhdustrial conditions it is often necessary, and even where not necessary it is yet often wise, that there should be organization of labor in order better to secure the rights of the individual wage worker. All encouragement should be given to any such organization, so long as it Is conducted with a due and decent re- gard for the rights of others. There are in this country some labor unions which have habitually, and other labor the most effective agents in working for good citizenship and for uplifting the condition of those whose welfare should be closest to our hearts. But when any labor union seeks improper ends, or seeks to achieve proper ends pany with men who decline to join their organizations. They have under of | impossible, to get unanimity of wise no circumstances the right to commit violence upon those, whether capitalists or wage-workers, who refuse to support their organizations, or who side with those with whom they are at odds; for mob rule is intolerable in any form. ot S She EMPLOYERS’ LIABILITY. Employes of the Government Should Be Safeguarded. The wage-workers are peculiarly en- titled to the protection and the encour- agement of the law. From the very na- ture of their occupation railroad men, for instance, are liable to be maimed dn doing the legitimate work of their profession, unless the railroad compa- | nies are required by law to make ample | provision for their safety. The admin- istration has been zealous in enforcing the existing law for this purpose. That law should be amended and strength- ened. Wherever the National Govern- ment has power there should be a strin- gent employer's liability law, which should apply to the Government itself where the Government is an employer of labor. In my message to the Fifty-seventh Congress, at its second session, I urged the passags of an employer's liability law for the District of Columbia. [ now renew that recommendation, and fur- ther recommend that the Congress ap- point a commission to make a com- prehensive study of employer's liabil- ity with the view of extending the pro- visions of a great and constitutional law to all employments within the scope of Federal power. el MEDALS OF HONOR. Acts of Conspicuous Bravery Ought to Be Rewarded. The Government has recognized hero- ism upon the water, and bestows medalg of honor upon those, persons who by extreme and heroic ddring have endan- gered their lives in saving or endeavor- ing to save lives from the perils of the sea in the waters over which the United States has jurisdiction, or upon an American vessel. This recognition should be extended to cover cases of conspicuous bravery and self-sacrifice by improper means, all good citizens|in the saving of life in private employ- and more especially all honorable pub- lic servants must oppose the wrong- doing as resolutely as they would op- pose the wrongdoing of any great cor- poration. Of course any violence, bru- ments under the jurisdiction of the United States, and particularly in the land commerce of the nation. —_—— tality or corruption should not "",.k‘;','.: TOO MANY ACCIDENTS. moment be tolerated. Wage-wo! have an entire right to organize and by all peaceful and honorable means to endeaver to persuade their fellows to join with them in o They have a legal right, which, according to circumstances, may or may not be a moral right, to refuse to work in com- Casualty ListTpon Railroads Matter of Public Concern. The ever-increasing casuality list up- on our rallroads is a matter of grave' + 3 el ¥ S public concern, and urgently calls for action by the Congress. In the matter of speed and comfort of railway travel our railroads give at least as good service as those of any other nation, and there is no reason why this serv- ice should not also be as safe as human Ingenuity can make it. Many of our leading roads have been foremost in the adoption of the most approved safe- guards for the protection of travelers and employes, vet the list of clearly avoidable accidents continues unduly large. The passage of a law requir- ing the adoption of a “ock signal sys- tem has been proposed to the Congress. I earnestly concur in that recommenda- tion, and would also point out to the Congress the urgent need of legislation in the interest of the public safety lim- iting the hours of labor for railroad em- ployes in train service upon railroads engaged in interstate commerce, and | providing that only trained and expe- rienced persons be employed in posi- i tions of responsibility connected with the operation of trains. Of course noth- ing can ever prevent accidents caused by human weakness or misconduct; and there should be drastic punish- ment for any railroad employe, whether officer or man, who by issuance of ‘wrong orders or by disobedience of or- ders causes disaster. The law of 1901, requiring interstate railroads to make monthly reports of all accidents to pas- sengers and employes on duty, should also be amended 80 as to empower the Government to make a personal inves- tigation, through proper officers, of all accidents involving loss of life which seem to require investigation, with a requirement that the results of such investigation be made public. The safety appliance law, as amend- ed by the act of March 2, 1903, has proved beneficial to railway employes, and in order that its provisions may be properly carried out, the force of in- spectors provided for by appropriation should be largely increased. This serv- ice is analogous to the Steamboat In-| spection Service, and deals with even more important interests. It has pass- ed the experimental stage and demon- strated its utility, and should recef: generous recognition by the Congress. FEDERAL “OPEN SHOP.” Non-Union Men Cannot Be Discriminated Against. There is no objection to employes of against non-union men who are in its employment, or who seek to be em- ployed under it. Moreover, it is a very grave impropriety for Government em- ployes to band themselves together for the purpose of extorting improperly hign salaries from the Government. Especiaily is this true of those within the classified service. The letter car- w“uld and rural, are as servants. They should be amply paid. | PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSE- VELT, WHO HOLDS ALL MEN EQUAL UNDER THE LAW. e — But their payment must be obtained by arguing their claims fairly and honor- ably before the Congress, and not by banding together for the defeat of those Congressmen who refuse to give prom- iser which they cannot in conscience give. The administration has already taken steps to prevent and punish abuses of this nature; but it will be wise for the Congress to supplement this action by legislation. BUREAU OF LABOR. Child Employment a Problem Requiring Early Solution. Much can be done by the Govern- ment in labor matters merely by giving publicity to certain conditions. The Bureau of Labor has done excellent work of this kind in many different directions. 1 shall shortly lay before you in a special message the full re- port of the investigation of the Bureau of Labor into strike, as this is a strike in which cer- tain very evil forces, which are more or less at work everywhere under the con- ditions of modern industrialism, be- came startlingly prominent. It is great- 1y to be wished that the Department of Cominerce and Labor, through the La- bor Bureau, should compile and arrangs fcr the Congress a list of the labor laws of the various States, and should be given the means to investigate and report to the Congress upon the labor conditions in the manufacturing and mining regions throughout the country, both as to wages, as to hours of labor, as to the labor of women and children, and as to the effect in the various labor centers of immigration from abroad. In this investigation especial attention should be paid to the conditions of child labor and child labor legislation in the several States. Such an investigation must necessarily take into account many of the problems with which this question of child labor is connected. | These problems can be actually met, in most cases, only by the States them- selves; but the lack of proper legis- n in one State in such a matter as child labor often renders it exces- sively difficult to establish protective restriction upon the work in another State having the same industries, so that the worst tends to drag down the better. For this reason it would be well for the nation at least to endeavor to £ n the different States. Such investiga- tion and vublication by the National G v would tend toward the se- the Colorado mining | { - 2] curing of approximately uniform legis- lation of the proper character among the several States. Laws to .’/?oyulale Sreat C'orporafion: nination of Present Abuses One Duty of the Washing- ton Gowvernment. When we come to deal with great corporations the need for the Govern- ment to act directly is far greater than in the case of labor, because great corporations can become such only by engaging in interstate com- merce, and interstate commmerce is | peculiarly the field of the General Government. It is an absurdity to ex- pect to eliminate the abuses in great corporations by State action. It is dif- ficult' to be patient with an argument that such matters should be left to the States, becquse more than one State pursues the policy of creating on easy terms corporations which are never cperated within that State at all, but in other States whose laws they ignore. The National Government zlone can deal adequately with these | great corporatiors. To try to deal with them in an intemperate, destruc- tive or demagogic spirit would, in all ever would be accomplished, and, with absolute certainty, that .if anything were accomplished it would be of a | barmful nature. The American peo- comprehensive information as| ple need to continue to show the very ! to the conditions of labor of children | qualities that they have shown—that | is, moderation, good sense. the earnest desire to avoid doing any damage, and yet the quiet determination to proceed, probability, mean that nothing what- | —— > ] step by step, without halt and without | hurry, in eliminating or at least in minimizing whatever of mischief or of | evil there is to interstate commerce in the conduct of great corporations. They ars acting in no spirit of hos- tility to wealth, either individual or ccrporate. They are not against the | rich man any more than against the pocr man. On the contrary, they are friendly alike toward rich man and toward poor man, provided only that each acts in a spirit of justice and | decency toward his fellows. Great cor- porations are necessary, and only men of great and singular mental power can manage such corporations successfully, and such men must have great re- wards. But these corporations should be managed with due regard to the interest of the public as a whole. ‘Where this can be done under the pres- | ent laws it must be done. Where these laws come short others should be en- | acted to supplement them. Yet we must never forget the deter- | mining factor in every kind of work, | of head or hand, must be the man’s own good sense, courage and kindliness. | More important than any legislation is | the gradual growth of a feeling of re- sponsibility and forbearance among capitalists apd wage-workers alike; & feeling of respect on the part of each man for the rights of others; a feeling {of brcad community of interest, not merely of capitalists among themselves, and of wage-workers among them- selves, but of capitalists and wage- | workers in their relations to each other, | and of both in their relation to their fellows who with them make up the body politic. There are many captains of industry, many labor leaders, who realize this. A recent speech by the president of one of our great railroad systems to the employes of that system contains sound ccmmon sense. It runs in part as follows: “It is my-bellef we can better serve each other, better understand the m&n { as weil as his business, when meeting face to face, exchanging views, and realizing from personal contact we serve but one interest, that of our | mutual prosperity. i *“Serious misunderstandings cannot occur where perscnal good will exists and opportunity for personal explana- | tion is present. { “In my early business life I had ex- | perience with men of affairs of a char- | acter to'make me desire to avoid creat- ‘ing a likg feeling of desentment to my- self and the interests in my charge, i should fortune ever place me in au- | thority, and I am sclicitous of a meas- {ure of confidence on the part of the i public and our employes that I shaill hepe may be warranted by the fair- ness and good fellowship I intend shall prevail in our relationship. Continued To Page 18, Column 1,